MEMBERS of the local trade council joined Aydin colleagues at a major conference in Istanbul where they were able to highlight local investment needs to Turkey’s prime minister Ahmet Davutoğlu.

The conference drew members of trade councils from 81 provinces across Turkey and there were opportunities to highlight problems to government ministers and share solutions.

The Didim delegation raised a number of issues. These included:

A need for a new hospital building

With the average summer population is Didim put at over 350,000, there was a serious need for a new and bigger hospital in the town.

The delegation said: “The medics are working on a lot at capacity in emergency services and outpatient services. Patients can not benefit from adequate health care due to lack of medical insurance.”

They called for more effective and quality health care services and for a more modern hospital with at least 150 beds.

University Campus Needs

They called for more investment into the Adnan Menderes University Vocational School campus. They called for an alternative development with land leased for a new tourism campus.

Ministry of Culture list

The council said that since 2005 the Ministry of Culture and Tourism had not included Didim in its recommended destinations list despite having 55 km of coastline and several bays, an ancient city, one of the largest ancient temples and natural beauty.

The council called for more tourism diversity with promotional media about Didim included on its the official website.

Setbacks experienced in the dual highway construction

The members also called for a swift conclusion to the construction works on the Bodrum Milas Airport road which had been suspended for some time.

Cruise port

The council called for a cruise port to enable large cruise ships to be berthed in the area closest to Didim.

Aydin-wide

On a regional base, the Aydin delegation called for  greater investment in the province’s fig, olive, chestnut and strawberry industries; greater support for the agricultural industry in general; a high speed rail link between Denizli-Aydin-Izmir;  transportation improvements for Didim and Kuşadası; Kusadasi cruise port to be improved and a cruise port of Didim.